Thursday, October 27, 2005
The Panthers host YSU in the UNI-Dome where they haven't lost this year.
By PETE MOLLICA
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
YOUNGSTOWN -- In the 20 years the Gateway Football Conference has existed, Northern Iowa has won or shared the title 11 times.
This season, the struggling Panthers (4-3, 2-2) find themselves in an unusual position, playing host to a red-hot Youngstown State team on Saturday in a game that is a must-win for the Panthers.
UNI suffered its most embarrassing Gateway loss ever last Saturday to Illinois State, 38-3. It was the worst beating the Panthers have suffered to a non-I-A opponent since losing at home to Southern Illinois 52-9 in 1983.
"We got taken to the woodshed," UNI coach Mark Farley said. "We need to go back and re-group. We hit a team that's hot and we didn't play well offensively or defensively.
"When you look at the rushing statistics, it's not our front seven [defensively], but our game coverage was pathetic. Yes, we're beat up a little bit, but there are no excuses. You can't come out of this game without making some adjustments."
Key injuries
The Panthers have been hurt by injuries, while other players haven't been playing up to standards.
Quarterback has been a problem the past two years. The Panthers lost fifth-year senior starter Tom Petrie in the fourth game of the 2004 season and called on redshirt freshman Eric Sanders, who promptly led the Panthers to six straight victories to end the season.
Sanders started the season this year and the Panthers won three of their first four games before Sanders went down with an injury.
Hill at quarterback
Junior college transfer Dexter Hill has taken over for Sanders the past two weeks and is expected to start Saturday against the Penguins.
In the three games he's played, Hill (6-foot-1, 190 pounds, junior) has completed 41-of-62 passes for 567 yards and one touchdown while being intercepted three times. In the first five games Sanders threw for 1,138 yards and 11 touchdowns.
If that wasn't enough, Panthers starting tailback Terrance Feeney (5-10, 225 senior), who had back-to-back 1,000 yard rushing seasons and was placed on the Walter Payton Award watch list, is having an off season.
Feeney, who has since been taken off the Payton list, has rushed for just 394 yards on 102 carries, while scoring seven touchdowns. His longest run from scrimmage is 33 yards.
The team's leading receiver is senior wideout Patrick Hunter with 19 catches for 351 yards and two touchdowns, while senior Jamie Goodwin and senior Justin Surrency, both wide receivers, have 17 catches each. Surrency has three TDs and Goodwin two.
Senior linebacker Brett Koebcke leads the team in tackles by one over senior strong safety Tanner Varner, also a senior who also has six tackles for losses and three sacks. Senior linebacker Darin Heideman has seven tackles for losses.
The Panthers have a good kicking game with junior Adam Kos handling the punting and averaging 40 yards per kick, while junior placekicker Brian Wingert has made 3-of-5 field goals, the longest being 32 yards.
Never lost to Penguins
Farley, who is in his fifth season with the Panthers (37-19), has never lost to the Penguins, winning four straight, but he knows the Panthers have their work cut out this season.
"We were fortunate last year beating them down there, but from what we've seen they are much improved this year," Farley said. "They've also beaten Illinois State, but we do have an advantage of playing them at home."
Northern Iowa is 146-38-1 in the UNI-Dome since it opened in 1976. The Panthers are 3-0 at home this year.